Ukiyo-e print
59.32.62a
Information
Colour woodblock print, part of a triptych associated with 59.32.62b and 59.32.62c. Ukiyo-e print depicting men in battle at sea. The title of the triptych is "Masakiyo sankan taiji zu", A picture of Masakiyo fighting in Korea.
The print depicts in bright colours a dramatic scene of Japanese troops conquering Korean troops during the japanese inavsion of Korea between 1592 and 1598. The central figure brandishing a sword is the historical character Katou Kiyomasa, a feudal lord of the Sengoku era (1467-1603) who was commonly known as Masakiyo in kabuki theatre.
The text in the blue box to the left of Masakiyo is likely to be the name of the kabuki actor playing the role. The text in the red box in the bottom left hand corner reads from top to bottom and from right to left, stating "Ikkaisai Yoshitoshi ga". Ga means "painted by", and Ikkaisai Yoshitoshi is one of the go (artist name) of Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892). The text in the white box above reads "To Yamaguchi" and is the seal of the publisher Yamaguchi-ya Toubei in Tokyo.